Evolves into an unforgettably inspirational film filled with joy and disarming honesty.
Young@Heart (2008)
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Synopsis: As early as autumn 2006, surreal and hilarious video clips of Stephen Walker's documentary (which originally aired on the BBC) were making the rounds on YouTube and in email inboxes all over the U.S.--tantalizing, out-of-context glimpses of the Young@Heart vocal choir, composed of... As early as autumn 2006, surreal and hilarious video clips of Stephen Walker's documentary (which originally aired on the BBC) were making the rounds on YouTube and in email inboxes all over the U.S.--tantalizing, out-of-context glimpses of the Young@Heart vocal choir, composed of elderly men and women, having a go at chestnuts by Sonic Youth, the Clash, and the Ramones. It seemed that the feature film, re-released for the screen in 2008, would perhaps be an uncomfortably comic look at a bunch of geezers set up to look ridiculous for the smug delectation of hipster audiences everywhere. The reality is not so far off-base, at least on first glance, but Walker's film, tracking the progress of the chorus as they prepare for a big gig, provides enough good-natured humor, personal narrative, and intimate details to inspire respect and admiration--and some major heart-string-plucking--in filmgoers. Viewers witness the blossoming of long-buried or completely latent musical talents in the elderly folks; learning the new, unfamiliar material, under the direction of irascible 50-something conductor Bob Cilman, keeps their neurons firing and their emotions kindled, while communing with and trusting each other staves off the isolating effects of old age, even as they cope with heartbreaking losses within their ranks. It is undeniably funny to watch them struggle with the more challenging punk, classic rock, and soul songs as their leader kvetches wearily, but Walker skillfully ensures that, by the end of the film, we are laughing with the intrepid Young@Hearters, and not at them. [More]
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Reviews
if you're looking to see a documentary this season about old people singing, the Rolling Stones' "Shine a Light" is not your only option.
A more genuinely sweet and uplifting documentary I have not seen in quite a while.
Whether you know it yet or not, this will be one of your favorite movies of the year.
The soothing, all encompassing power of music and song - its ability to unify, offer pleasure, fulfill the artistic bent, communicate, and much more - is vividly demonstrated in the documentary Young@Heart.
[Y]ou cannot come away from this charming and inspiring documentary... and not vow to never, ever give up on life, or on anything you really want to do, no matter what great age you manage to achieve.
"Young@Heart" plays like a 100-minute version of one of those "on the lighter side" news feature segments that end a local newscast.
Its subjects are so compelling that Young @ Heart becomes a blisteringly funny and deeply moving meditation on music and mortality.
Young@Heart is a classic. May we all live to be so youthful in spirit and soul.
There's something really enjoyable about seeing a group of 70-something, 80-something and 90-something amateurs performing with the energy of people who are half -- or even a quarter -- of their age.
The group's enthusiasm, natural talent and undeniable chutzpah effort-lessly translates to the screen in Stephen Walker's winning new documentary.
A tribute to this nation's elderly, an ode to the power of the arts, and a salute to David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix and the other musicians whose songs have found new rhyme and reason thanks to these geriatric rockers.
Their "specialness" is the hook by which the film extols their representativeness.
An undeniably sweet mix of disarming honesty, inspired gumption and brutal reality, Young@Heart somehow manages to avoid the maudlin while enhancing the obvious with its portrait of a chorus of senior citizens who sing contemporary rock songs.
What makes Young@Heart such an ingratiating experience goes far deeper than the novelty of seeing old people singing hard rock tunes.
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